Never
by MrsB108
Summary: Kylo Ren and Rey meet again.


The caves were a maze of narrow rock pathways, endlessly twisting and turning. Some of the passageways were lit up brightly from the descending moonlight streaking through cracks in the rocks, while others were completely engulfed in darkness; so dark in fact Rey felt as though she might physically choke on the darkness.

She had been sent on a mission by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, whom she had recently sought out and brought back from his temporary isolation to aid the Resistance in their war against Supreme Leader Snoke and the First Order. Her mission was simple; head to the planet of Raantar and obtain the ancient Jedi artifact hidden deep in the caves of Mondu.

Luke had insisted she go alone, much to the dismay of many on the base. She didn't mind going alone, though she kept that to herself. She had been alone for so long, and although she was so happy to be constantly surrounded by friends and camaradarie, something about being alone was very comforting to her, like slipping back into an old pair of favorite shoes.

She'd been searching the caves for what had to have been hours, sweat beaded on her forehead and a strained ache slowly becoming a constant feeling in her muscles and joints.

Every cave wall seemed to blend together and she started to worry that regardless if and when she obtained the artifact that she would never even be able to find her way out.

She sighed and pressed on, telling herself to worry about it later; first things first; find the artifact.

Luke wouldn't tell her what it was that she was looking for, only that she would know it when she found it.

'Great', she had thought sarcastically, 'That's very helpful'. Although what she had actually said was, "Yes, Master Jedi."

A faraway noise echoed through the caves, like the sound of pebbles falling.

Rey turned abruptly, peering through the shadows, suddenly her previous thoughts very far away and her focus razor-sharp on the here and now. Her hand was poised on the hilt of her lightsaber, a rudimentary form of a Jedi's elegant weapon that she had created from scraps with the perission and help of Luke.

She held her breath and waited for the sound to repeat itself, every hair on the nape of her standing on edge.

Nothing.

She could have sworn that she felt...something.

She waited a full minute before she allowed herself to breathe, telling herself it must have been a natural reaction to her disturbance of the caves.

She turned back in her original direction, took a step around a darkened corner, and walked directly into a masked figure dressed all in black, whose hand immediately reached down and disarmed her of her lightsaber in one swift movement, using the Force to send it scattering far down the caverns.

Kylo Ren.

She had dreamed, or rather worried, about this moment for what seemed like an enternity, ever since their last meeting which was months ago when she had bested him in combat. There was no day in her life that was so full with emotions as that day was.

At the moment, she was angry at herself for having been caught off guard and disarmed so easily.

He held her in place with a flick of his wrist, her body unable to move, only her eyes were able to follow his body as he neared her, his daunting mask now only a mere foot from her face.

Neither spoke for a moment, just taking each other in, feeling the undeniable Force connection flowing between them. Rey felt it stronger now than she had that fateful day in the snow, her training with Luke having made her stronger and more powerful than she could have ever imagined.

He watched her through masked eyes and she could feel both the utter rage he felt towards her and also something else...

"I've been waiting for us to meet again," Kylo Ren spoke in a deep, steady voice, the masks' mechanical vibration added to his voice giving it a more menacing tone.

Rey knew it was pointless to struggle against this iron fist holding her in place but she did it anyways.

"Oh is that right?" she said with an air of sarcasm as she writhed against the invisible bonds. "I would have been fine waiting another millenium or so before seeing you again."

He made a sound that she assumed was a chuckle.

"I think we both know thats not exactly true," he said matter-of-factly.

Rey was surprised, what did he mean by that exactly?

He continued speaking, not explaining what he had meant. "I can feel how strong you've become since we last met. You've obviously been training. Tell me, is it everything you imagined it would be?"

Rey could feel the sincerity in his question; it struck her as odd that this person who committed such acts of evil would actually even care about such things.

She decided to ignore his question." Are you going to kill me or keep me here and ask me silly questions all day?"

He said nothing and tilted his head to the side. She could feel the tendrils of his thoughts creeping into her mind. She attempted to close her thoughts to him , the way Luke had trained her too, but she found her thoughts wandering; wandering to that day in the snow when she had slashed at his face with the lightsaber, kicking him down the ground and leering over him with the desire to kill him coursing through her veins.

She never admitted it to anyone, not even to Master Luke, but she often wondered if the ground hadn't seperated them that day if she would have let the darkness all the way in and taken his life.

"You needn't feel guilt for what happened that day. I don't blame you," he said, seeing her thoughts.

Rey struggled with her thoughts, trying to push him out.

"Why are you here?" she asked him, trying to keep him from her mind.

"I'm here for the same reason as you; to obtain the First Lightsaber."

Rey's eyes widened slightly.

He noticed and prodded her thoughts for explanation. "I see. Luke likes to play his little games, lording his wisdom and experience over his students. It can be frustrating, I know."

Rey remembered all the stories she had been told of Kylo Ren, previously Ben Solo, after she had officially joined the Resistance.

"You killed all those students. You killed Han Solo, your father...why aren't I dead yet?" she asked bluntly, both curious and fearing of the answer.

He paused and she felt the wavering of his mind, pulling back from hers as he contemplated an answer.

"I have no wish to kill you," was all he said.

She seemed surprised at that and before she could respond, she felt the massive wave of energy just as he rendered her unconscious.

She lay there, on the cave floor, motionless, breathing steady. Kylo Ren knelt down beside her, removing a glove from his right hand and raising it to her face. He gently pushed a strand of hair from her face before standing, staring down at her, and saying quietly, "I would never hurt you."

With that, he placed his glove back on his hand and turned and headed back down the cave pathway, heading into the darkness.

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